Operation Blue Star was an Indian military operation which took place 3–8 June 1984, ordered by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in order to remove Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his armed followers from the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab. Bhindranwale had earlier taken residence in Harmandir Sahib and made it his headquarters in April 1980.

Operation Blue Star

Bhindranwale was accused of amassing weapons in the gurudwara in order to start a major armed uprising. These reasons are contested by most Sikh scholars who claim that the Akal Takhat is a temporal seat and keeping weapons in gurudwaras is well within the precincts of Sikhism.

Operation Blue Star

The operation had two components: Operation Metal, confined to the Harmandir Sahib complex, and Operation Shop, which raided the Punjabi countryside to capture any suspects.

Operation Blue Star

Following it, Operation Woodrose was launched to thoroughly scan the Punjab countryside. The operation was carried out by Indian Army troops with tanks, artillery, helicopters, armoured vehicles, and chemical weapons.

Operation Blue Star

In addition, the CBI is considered responsible for seizing historical artifacts and manuscripts in the Sikh Reference Library before burning it down Four months after the operation, on 31 October 1984, Indira Gandhi was assassinated by Satwant Singh and Beant Singh, two of her Sikh bodyguards, in what is viewed as an act of vengeance. Subsequently, more than 3,000 Sikhs were killed in the ensuing anti-Sikh riots.

Golden Temple

Indian Sikh devotees gather at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, 05 June 2007, on the eve of the 23rd Anniversary of Operation Bluestar. Actual casualty figures given by Kuldip Singh Brar put the number of deaths among the Indian army at 83 and injuries at 220. According to the official estimate, 492 civilians were killed, though some independent claims run as high as 5,000.

Kuldip Singh Brar

Retired Indian lieutenant general Kuldip Singh Brar (C) is escorted out of the Chattrapati Shivaji International Airport after his arrival from London in Mumbai on October 3, 2012. Brar, 78, the Indian military chief who led the contentious 1984 operation against Sikh fighters in the Golden Temple in Amritsar, was stabbed in a London street by four people during a private visit to the British capital. Brar commanded Operation Blue Star, ordered by then-prime minister Indira Gandhi to flush out militants holed up in Sikhdom's holiest shrine demanding an independent Sikh homeland.

Dal Khalsa

Activists of the Dal Khalsa radical Sikh organisation hold placards during a vigil for victims of Operation Blue Star outside the Golden Temple in Amritsar on June 5, 2012, the eve of "Ghallughara Diwas", the 28th Anniversary of Operation Bluestar.

Bharatiya Janata Party

Bharatiya Janata Party supporters and Sikh demonstrators participate in a candlelight vigil on the 26th anniversary of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in New Delhi on November 2, 2010.

Golden Temple

An indian Sikh reads from a holy book at the edge of the temple tank at the Golden Temple in Amritsar, 06 June 2004, on the 20th anniversary of Operation Blue Star.

Operation Blue Star

Operation Blue Star was an Indian military operation which took place 3–8 June 1984, ordered by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in order to remove Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale and his armed followers from the Harmandir Sahib in Amritsar, Punjab. Bhindranwale had earlier taken residence in Harmandir Sahib and made it his headquarters in April 1980.